JP2002254885A - Applicator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a writing utensil of a valve mechanism which controls automatic discharge of ink by opening and closing the valve mechanism in response to writing and hardly causes an ink leakage, even when the environments of use change. SOLUTION: A fresh ink tank is formed inside a barrel and a pen body is arranged in a barrel tip part and further, a valve mechanism which opens and closes by the ink sucking action of the pen body in response to writing, is arranged inside an ink circulating passage which makes the fresh ink tank communicate with a pen body tip. In addition, a sealing agent reservoir part is formed near a pressure contact part between a valve body and a valve seat ad the sealing agent, with fluidity composed of an organic matter, which easily wets with the valve body or the valve seat and does not dissolve in and hardly wets with ink is arranged in the sealing agent reservoir part. The ink circulation is achieved through the following pressure process: the head pressure of the ink in the fresh ink tank < the blocking pressure of a valve and the valve seat of the valve mechanism (converted in terms of the head pressure) < the capillary osmotic pressure of the pen body (converted in terms of the head pressure <=the capillary osmotic pressure of the pen body connecting aperture part (converted in terms of the head pressure).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention comprises a raw ink tank for storing liquids (hereinafter referred to as inks) such as aqueous and oily writing inks, cosmetic liquids such as eyeliners, and coating liquids such as paints and chemicals. The present invention relates to an applicator provided with a mechanism for automatically controlling the ejection of ink in response to application or writing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a raw ink tank is provided in a shaft cylinder,
There has been known a writing implement for automatic discharge control of raw ink, in which stored ink is sequentially replenished to a writing body (pen body) as the used ink is consumed in writing or application, and continuous writing or application can be performed. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-14200 discloses a shaft cylinder and a pen body provided at the tip of the shaft cylinder.
A slide stopper slidably provided in a main ink chamber formed in the barrel, a small-volume sub-ink chamber formed between the main ink chamber and the pen body, and a main ink chamber And the sub-ink chamber is provided between the main ink chamber and the sub-ink chamber when the pressure in the sub-ink chamber is reduced by a predetermined differential pressure equal to or lower than the ink suction pressure when writing with the pen body. The invention is described in which a writing instrument having a valve mechanism for flowing a gas is provided. In the writing instrument, the ink flow path between the raw ink tank in the shaft and the tip of the pen body is divided by a valve mechanism, and the pressure of ink movement in the capillary of the pen body (capillary osmotic pressure) corresponding to writing causes the valve mechanism to move. And has a raw ink discharge control mechanism that allows ink to flow and allows continuous writing.

[0003]

By the way, the valve mechanism of the above-mentioned writing implement opens and closes the valve mechanism in response to a minute pressure change caused by drawing out ink from a pen tip. , It is difficult to reliably function in intermittent use conditions such as liquid-tight closing with a minute pressure, opening by writing and closing again liquid-tight, and especially due to long-term crimping state and dropping There has been a problem in practical use, for example, the pressure contact portion between the valve body and the valve seat is in a so-called biting state due to an impact or the like, and the initial valve opening force changes. In addition, this type of writing implement is required to have a quality that does not cause ink leakage, such as dropping, and maintains proper ink discharge even during storage and various use environment conditions during use. However, the ink did not have sufficient quality, and ink leakage occurred under a specific environment. Incidentally, ink leakage is mainly caused by the following three factors. (1) In the case of a structure in which the ink in the writing instrument is consumed and replaced with air, the internal air repeatedly expands or contracts in volume due to environmental changes in temperature and pressure. (2) An unsteady environment state in which the usage environment is subjected to an acceleration change such as a fall in an upward, downward, or sideways state. (3) The sealing force of the valve cannot prevent the head pressure (head pressure) of the ink in the raw ink tank. According to the present invention, the ink outflow occurrence factors (1), (2) and (3) are provided.
In response to this, the valve mechanism keeps liquid tight without leakage, has a reliable opening and closing function at the intended head pressure, easy to manufacture practically,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a raw ink automatic ejection control applicator provided with a valve mechanism that is less likely to cause a pressure contact portion to bite due to long-term pressure contact or drop impact between a valve body and a valve seat.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a raw ink tank for directly storing raw ink is formed in a shaft, a pen body is disposed at a tip of the shaft, and the raw ink tank communicates with the tip of the pen body. An applicator in which a valve mechanism that separates and opens a valve body and a valve seat by an ink absorbing action (capillary osmotic pressure) of a pen body corresponding to writing is disposed in an ink circulation path. A sealant reservoir is formed in the vicinity of the pressure contact portion of the above, and a sealant made of an organic material having fluidity, which is easily wetted by the valve element or valve seat, insoluble in ink and hardly wettable, is disposed in the sealant reservoir. At the same time, the head pressure of the ink in the raw ink tank <the closing pressure of the valve and valve seat of the valve mechanism (water head pressure conversion)
<Summary of the Invention An application tool characterized in that capillary osmotic pressure of pen body (converted to water head pressure) ≦ capillary osmotic pressure of pen body connection port (converted to water head pressure).

[0005]

In the applicator according to the present invention, the valve body is resiliently press-contacted and partitioned between the raw ink tank connection port and the pen body connection port so that the valve body can be separated and opened from the valve seat. A sealant reservoir is formed in the vicinity, and in the sealant reservoir, a liquid sealant made of an organic substance having fluidity, which is easily wetted by the valve element or valve seat, is insoluble in ink and hardly wets, is disposed. I kept close and achieved the task.

In addition, the head pressure of the ink in the raw ink tank <the sealing pressure of the valve and the valve seat of the valve mechanism (converted to the water head pressure) <the capillary osmotic pressure of the pen body (converted to the water head pressure) ≦ the capillary at the pen body connection port. By adopting the osmotic pressure (converted to the water head pressure), the valve mechanism keeps the liquid tight without leakage, and enables the function to open and close at the intended head pressure. In other words, on the premise that the valve mechanism can be opened by the penetrating pressure of the pen body, the head pressure of the ink in the raw ink tank <the sealing pressure of the valve mechanism and the valve seat (converted to the water head pressure) <the penetrating capillary of the pen body Pressure (converted to head pressure)
Although the leak due to the natural fall of the ink can be blocked, the air penetrating into the pen body has a problem that if the air enters the pen body capillary, the capillary permeation action will be reduced and it will not work, and the valve mechanism will not open. Even in the case where the opening / closing of the valve mechanism functions reliably, the relationship between the capillary osmotic pressure of the pen body (converted to the water head pressure) ≦ the capillary osmotic pressure of the pen body connection port (converted to the water head pressure) The valve can be reliably opened even when air is present in the pen body.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example 1 Example 1 is shown in attached drawings 1 and 2. In this embodiment, a fresh ink tank having a fixed volume is used in which outside air is sucked from a rear portion of the shaft by ink consumption by writing. Reference numeral 1 denotes a shaft cylinder, and the inner space behind the shaft is a raw ink tank 2. The raw ink tank 2 has a hollow inner wall rib 7b on the inner wall.
Is inserted. Expansion storage room 7
Has a small diameter pipe 7a connected to the front, a fitting cylinder 7c provided at the rear end, and an outer diameter fixed to the shaft rear end inner wall 2a in a liquid-tight state. In the hollow interior of the expansion storage chamber 7, an ink absorber 8 is provided with a ventilation gap 7d communicating with the outside air by an inner wall rib 7b.
Is inserted in a state where is formed. The outer diameter of the ventilation tail plug 9 is press-fitted into the inner wall of the fitting cylinder 7c of the expansion storage chamber 7, and the rear part of the ink absorber 8 is fixed. A vent hole 9 is provided in the vent tail plug 9.
Since a is provided, the inside and outside of the shaft communicate with each other. As the ink absorber, a fiber convergent body, an open-cell body, a sintered porous body, or the like may be appropriately used. Further, the front end of the small diameter pipe 7a of the expansion storage chamber 7 is disposed between the center of the raw ink tank 2 and the front raw ink tank connection port 3a, and the rear part of the small diameter pipe 7a absorbs ink. It is in a state of diving into the front end of the body 8.

In the front shaft of the raw ink tank 2, there is arranged a valve seat 3 whose side circumference is attached to the shaft inner wall in a liquid-tight manner. The valve seat 3 has a raw ink tank connection port 3a, which is an ink outlet, formed at the center thereof, and a press-contact end 3b formed at its convex front portion. Pressure contact surface 4
a is pressed by the spring spring 5. In the vicinity of the press contact portion between the press contact end portion 3b of the valve seat 3 and the press contact surface 4a of the valve body 4, a portion between the outer diameter portion of the convex front end press contact portion 3b of the valve seat 3 and the press contact surface 4a of the valve body 4 is provided. The gap forms a sealant reservoir 11.

The sealant 10 is disposed in the sealant reservoir 11. As the sealant 10, an organic substance having fluidity, which is easily wetted by the valve body 4 or the valve seat 3, is insoluble in ink and hardly wets. As the sealant 10, silicone oil KF-96 (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Silicon Co., Ltd.), silicon oil SH200 (manufactured by Toray Dow Corning Co., Ltd.), silicone oil TSF451-1MA (Toshiba Silicon Co., Ltd.)
Oil) and Ryukyu process R1000
(Naphthenic oil, manufactured by Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.), Kyoishi Process R500 (paraffinic oil, Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.)
), Kyoishi Process X50 (aroma-based oil, manufactured by Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.), Daphne KP-100 (paraffin-based oil, manufactured by Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.), Nisseki Polybutene HV15 (paraffin-based oil, Nippon Petrochemical ( And Teflon (registered trademark) -based oils.

In addition, grease SH45 (manufactured by Toray Dow Corning Co., Ltd.) and grease TSK550 (manufactured by Toshiba Silicone Co., Ltd.), which are in a stationary form and deform like external toothpaste when subjected to an external force. Grease such as Silicon Grease SCG-100C (manufactured by Osawa Wax Co., Ltd.) and molybdenum grease MG-10
Mineral oil-based greases such as 0C (manufactured by Osawa Wax Co., Ltd.), jojoba oil in natural waxes and the like, lanolin and the like.

The sealant 10 is disposed in the sealant reservoir 11, so that the raw ink tank connection port and the outer diameter thereof adjacent to the convex front end pressure contact portion 3b of the valve seat 3, and
The valve body pressure contact surface 4a is in a wet state. A fiber core pen body 6 is disposed on the front portion 1a of the conical shaft cylinder. The front portion 1a of the shaft cylinder is formed in a tubular shape, and has a pen body connection port 1b for press-fitting the pen body 6 at an inner central portion.
In addition, the front portion 1a of the barrel has a longitudinally formed ink catching rib groove 1c connected to the pen connection port 1b and for inserting the pen body 6 forward.

The pen body connection port 1b is located behind the pen body 6.
The inner capillary is fixed in a compressed state.
On the other hand, the front of the pen body 6 is inserted in a state where a capillary gap is formed around the pen body by the ink catching rib groove 1c. Therefore, the rear part of the pen body 6 has a high density, and the front part is press-fitted with a relatively low density. Therefore, when ink at the tip of the pen body is consumed for writing, even if external air may enter the capillary at the tip, it is difficult for air to enter the rear and ink is easily absorbed from the ink tank. ing.

The spring elastic body 5 is fixed to the front step portion of the shaft so as to resilient the valve body 4. Therefore, the raw ink tank 2 and the pen body 6 are in a state where the ink circulation path is separated by the valve body 4 pressed against the valve seat 3.

In the applicator described in the first embodiment, the ink in the raw ink tank 2 is led out to the pen body 6 by means such as suctioning the tip of the shaft to enable initial writing. The subsequent writing is as follows. That is, the ink in the capillary space at the front part of the pen body 6 is consumed in accordance with writing, and ink is to be sucked out from the rear part of the pen body to replenish the ink. The valve body 4, which has been pressed against the ink, opens, and the ink flows out of the raw ink tank, allowing continuous writing. The ink outflow from the raw ink tank may be excessively ejected due to the movement inertia force or the like. Therefore, an ink catching rib groove 1c is provided on the outer periphery of the pen body to temporarily absorb the excessive outflow ink and suppress ejection. You. The pressure-sealing of the valve seat 3 and the valve body 4 that provides such an effect is achieved by the relationship between the appropriate resilience of the spring resilient body 5 pressing the valve body 4 and the capillary osmotic pressure of the pen body 6 and the raw ink tank. It can be adjusted appropriately taking into account the ink drop inside. Furthermore, the pressure contact between the valve seat 3 and the valve body 4 alone may not be completely fluid-tight, so that the outer diameter of the convex tip contact portion 3b of the valve seat 3 and the pressure contact surface 4a of the valve body 4
By forming a sealant reservoir in the gap formed between the sealant and the sealant 10, the outflow and leakage of the ink are reliably prevented.

When ink is consumed from the pen tip 6 for writing,
As a result, the valve element 4 opens, and the ink passes and flows out.
At that time, the sealing agent 10 is temporarily separated or released in the seal reservoir 11. However, the sealant 10
When the flow of ink stops, the ink re-aggregates in the seal reservoir 11 due to the self-aggregation force of the sealant. Therefore, the ink hardly flows out even by repeated ink ejection, maintains the sealing property with a low pressing force, and responds to writing. The automatic discharge of the ink to be performed is possible. On the other hand, when the pressure-blocking force of the valve body 4 is large and the capillary osmotic pressure of the pen body 6 is relatively small, the valve cannot be opened, and external air is sucked into the pen body capillary gap to break down. Since a problem occurs, it is necessary to prevent the air from being sucked into the rear portion of the pen body 6 by pressing the rear portion of the pen body 6 into the pen body connection port 1b and making the rear portion of the pen body higher in density than the front portion. It is.

Next, the pressure in the raw ink tank 2 is reduced by the amount of ink consumed by writing. Along with this, the external air flows into the raw ink tank through the side ventilation hole 9a of the ventilation tail plug 9 → the expansion storage chamber (including the inner wall rib 7b and the stored ink absorber 8) → the inflow path of the thin pipe portion 7a. Inhaled. When the amount of intake air increases, the amount of expansion and contraction in the raw ink tank due to a change in environmental conditions also increases, and ink and air move inside the shaft. Even in the case where such movement of ink or air occurs, in the structure of this embodiment, the ink is caused to flow out in a path opposite to the flow path of the sucked air, so that ink leakage does not occur.
That is, first, when the pen tip is stored in a substantially horizontal state from the downward direction, the ink moves due to the internal expansion in the raw ink tank, but the pressure of the ink flowing out toward the pen tip is blocked by the valve mechanism. ing. As a result, the ink flows out of the small pipe 7a into the expansion storage chamber 7 and is absorbed by the ink absorber 8, so that the ink is prevented from leaking off the shaft. When the air in the raw ink tank contracts again, the ink that has entered the ink absorber 8 is sucked back by the reduced pressure in the raw ink tank, so that the ink absorber 8 restores the ability to absorb ink again, No ink leakage occurs during repeated expansion and contraction. Next, when the ink is stored around the opening of the thin pipe 7a due to internal expansion inside the raw ink tank when the pen tip is stored in the upward state, the raw ink is stored in the raw ink tank 2. Means that the amount of ink is large and the amount of air is small. Therefore, in this state, the movement change due to air expansion is small, and even if the ink moves, the ink is sufficiently captured by the ink absorber 8 and no leakage occurs.
On the other hand, when air exists around the mouth of the small pipe 7a, it means that the air has increased in the raw ink tank 2, and in this state, only the expanded air is expanded and stored from the small pipe 7a. Since the ink leaves the outside through the ventilation gap 7d of the chamber 7, ink leakage is also prevented in this case. In this manner, the structure is such that ink leakage does not easily occur in all of the downward, horizontal, and upward directions.

Further, when the writing instrument receives a drop impact,
If the pen tip is in the downward direction, the pressure contact between the valve element 4 and the valve seat 3 opens the valve element 4 due to a drop impact, but is instantaneous, so that ink leakage can be prevented. Conversely, when the pen tip falls upward, the valve is closed in the closing direction, and the thin pipe 7a and the ink absorber 8 in the raw ink tank 2 prevent the outflow of ink. Hateful. As described above, the first embodiment has the above-described problems in the writing implement type of the type in which air is sucked into the raw ink tank.
(3) The structure is such that ink leakage hardly occurs with respect to the ink outflow factor.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 3 shows Embodiment 2 of the present invention. This embodiment is an example of a writing implement structure in which a separating portion for separating air and ink is provided in a raw ink tank. As in the first embodiment, when the ink at the pen tip is consumed for writing, the capillary inside the pen body sucks the rear ink, so that the valve body that closes the valve seat opens. In this configuration, the ink in the raw ink tank flows out to the pen body to enable continuous writing. In the raw ink tank 2, a partition wall 12 is provided which can be slid from back to front along the shaft inner wall 2 a, and ink in the raw ink tank 2 flows out to the pen body 6 by writing. ,
As the ink level drops, the partition 12
However, it moves so as not to inject air, and at the same time suppresses ink evaporation from the rear of the shaft.

More specifically, a plastic partition plug 12a having substantially the same specific gravity as the ink is slidably floated forward in the shaft on the water surface (meniscus) of the ink in the ink tank filled with the ink. In order to obtain a sealing property, a grease-like substance 12b (having an oil agent or a low molecular weight resin as a component) is disposed around the partition plug 12a. The grease-like substance 12b slidably closes the gap between the partition plug 12a and the shaft inner wall 2a, and prevents the ink in the raw ink tank 2 from leaking outside due to its own weight drop. This writing implement structure is designed to be used for partition plugs 1 in a raw ink tank according to ink consumption.
Since 2a moves forward, no air enters the raw ink existing portion, and the expansion storage chamber 7 for air expansion and contraction as in the first embodiment is not required. However, on the other hand, in this embodiment, when the raw ink tank 2 is fully filled with ink, the head water pressure is higher than that in the first embodiment, and accordingly, the pressure sealing force between the valve seat 3 and the valve body 4 is increased accordingly. Spring bullets 5
Is used. This embodiment is a writing implement that can perform continuous writing and discharge control in almost the same manner as in the first embodiment, regardless of whether the pen tip is in a downward, horizontal, or upward storage and use state.

Third Embodiment FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of a third embodiment of the present invention. Example 3
Are the same as those of the first embodiment except that the sealant reservoir 11 is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the pressure contact portion 103b between the valve body 4 and the valve seat 103, and is formed so as to expand outside the axis. Same as 1. In the third embodiment, by forming the sealant reservoir 11 so as to expand outside the axis, even if the sealant 11 is peeled or released when the valve is opened, after reagglomeration,
Since the capillary force acts on the inner side of the axis, it is possible to reliably create a state in which the press-contact portion is wet with the sealant 11.

Embodiment 4 FIG. 5 shows Embodiment 4 of the present invention. Example 4 is similar to Example 3
In the above, the valve body 204 has a concave shape, and the valve seat pressure contact portion 2
Example 3 is the same as Example 3 except that an outer tube portion 204b surrounding the outer tube 03b is formed, and an inner tube rib groove 204c is provided on the inner surface thereof. In the fourth embodiment, the valve body 204 is opened by the ink consumption of the pen tip 6. Accordingly, the sealant 10 is temporarily separated or released by the ink flowing through and out. However, the peeled or released sealant 10 adheres to and stays in the rib groove 204c in the outer tube of the concave valve body, stops writing, and stops the flow of ink.
Since the self-aggregation force of the sealant re-aggregates in the sealant reservoir, it is difficult to flow out even after repeated ink ejection,
The sealability is maintained with a low pressing force, and automatic ejection of ink in response to writing is enabled.

[0022]

According to the present invention, it has become possible to provide a writing implement which is stable with respect to various ink outflow factors of the writing implement and has good automatic ink discharge controllability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a third embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Shaft cylinder 1a Shaft tip part 1b Pen body connection port part 1c Ink catch rib groove 2 Raw ink tank 2a Raw ink tank inner wall 3 Valve seat 3a Raw ink tank connection port 3b Press-contact end 4 Valve body 4a Press-contact end face 4b Valve body outer tube Part 4c Outer tube inner rib groove 5 Spring elastic body 6 Pen body 6a Pen body front part 7 Expansion storage chamber 7a Small diameter pipe part 7b Inner wall rib 7c Shaft fitting part 7d Vent gap 8 Ink absorber 9 Vent tail plug 9a Vent hole DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Sealant 11 Sealant reservoir 12a Plastic partition wall stopper 12b Grease-like substance

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C350 GA04 HA15 KA07 KA09 KA10 KC02 KC16 KD01 KD09 KD10 KF03 NA07 NA10 NA11 3B040 AE02 AE07 3E014 PA01 PB03 PD30 PE03 PE05 PE25 PF10 4F042 AA01 FA22 FA23 FA30 FA40

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A raw ink tank that stores raw ink directly in a shaft, a pen body is disposed at a shaft tip portion, and a writing ink passage is provided in an ink circulation path that communicates the raw ink tank with the tip of the pen body. In a coating tool having a valve mechanism for separating and opening a valve body and a valve seat by an ink absorbing action (capillary osmotic pressure) of a corresponding pen body, a sealant reservoir is provided near a pressure contact portion between the valve body and the valve seat. A sealant made of an organic material having fluidity, which is easily wetted by the valve body or valve seat, is insoluble in ink and hardly wets, is disposed in the sealant reservoir, and the ink in the raw ink tank is formed. Head drop pressure <sealing pressure of valve mechanism valve and valve seat (water head pressure conversion) <capillary osmotic pressure of pen body (water head pressure conversion) ≤ capillary osmotic pressure of pen body connection port (water head pressure conversion) An applicator characterized by the above. 2. The sealant according to claim 1, wherein the sealant reservoir is formed on an outer peripheral portion of a press-contact portion between the valve body and the valve seat, and is formed so as to expand outside a shaft core. Applicator. 3. The applicator according to claim 1, wherein the valve body has a concave shape and an outer tube inner rib groove is provided on an inner surface of an outer tube portion surrounding the valve seat.